- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
On the weekend, I previewed the WTA Finals’ Red Group, which consists of Serena Williams, Simona Halep, Eugenie Bouchard and Ana Ivanovic.
Here, in Part II, I will preview the White Group.
White Group
Maria Sharapova, Petra Kvitova, Agnieszka Radwanska and Caroline Wozniacki
Maria Sharapova (2)
Seventh appearance
Best result: Won (2004)
Titles won in 2014: Stuttgart, Madrid, French Open, Beijing
Grand Slam results this year
Australian Open: Fourth round
French Open: Champion
Wimbledon: Fourth round
US Open: Fourth round
Head-to-head
6-2 versus Kvitova
10-2 versus Radwanska
5-3 versus Wozniacki
Petra Kvitova (3)
Fourth appearance
Best result: Won (2011)
Titles won in 2014: Wimbledon, New Haven, Wuhan
Grand Slam results this year
Australian Open: First round
French Open: Third round
Wimbledon: Champion
US Open: Third round
Head-to-head
2-6 versus Sharapova
4-1 versus Radwanska
4-4 versus Wozniacki
Agnieszka Radwanska (6)
Sixth appearance (fourth as direct entrant)
Best result: Semi-finals (2012)
Title won in 2014: Montreal
Grand Slam results this year
Australian Open: Semi-finals
French Open: Third round
Wimbledon: Fourth round
US Open: Second round
Head-to-head
2-10 versus Sharapova
1-4 versus Kvitova
6-4 versus Wozniacki
Caroline Wozniacki (8)
Fourth appearance
Best result: Runner-up (2010)
Title won in 2014: Istanbul
Grand Slam results this year
Australian Open: Third round
French Open: First round
Wimbledon: Fourth round
US Open: Runner-up
Head-to-head
3-5 versus Sharapova
4-4 versus Kvitova
4-6 versus Radwanska
Preview
French Open and Wimbledon champions this year, Maria Sharapova and Petra Kvitova, headline a strong White Group which also features former Wimbledon finalist Agnieszka Radwanska and two-time US Open finalist Caroline Wozniacki.
After at one stage being in danger of dropping out of the world’s top 10 following a poor start to 2014, which followed her being forced to put an end to her 2013 season early due to injury, Sharapova has bounced back hard. She has won four titles, including winning her second French Open title in June.
Other titles include a third consecutive win in Stuttgart, as well as first titles in Madrid and Beijing. In all four of her tournament wins this year, she has been pushed to three sets, including in Paris, where she won the last eight points to deny Simona Halep in a three-set thriller.
Her strong head-to-heads against her other three opponents will make her the favourite to emerge as the winner out of the White Group. However, a second-place finish could see her oppose Serena Williams, against whom she has lost her last 15 matches in tennis’ version of the Kennett curse, in the semi-finals.
But if she can reverse that trend, and go on to win the title while hoping that the American performs poorly, then she stands a faint chance of unseating her long-time career nemesis as the world number one before the year is out.
A lot has been said about the struggles endured by Petra Kvitova since she won Wimbledon in 2011, and it only escalated further after she dropped her opening match at the Australian Open in addition to exiting Roland Garros in the third round.
However, a return to the All England Club in June saw her exit with a second Venus Rosewater Dish, courtesy of a royal straight-sets thrashing of Eugenie Bouchard in the final. That, and two more titles for the year in New Haven and Wuhan, saw her return to the world’s top four for the first time since July 2012.
This year marks Kvitova’s fourth consecutive participation at the WTA Finals, having won this tournament on debut in 2011. A strong performance in Singapore could see her match her career high ranking of number two.
Agnieszka Radwanska has endured a season of inconsistency this year after reaching the quarter-finals or better at three of the four Grand Slam tournaments last year. She could only get this far just once in 2014, getting to within a win of reaching the final at the Australian Open but being thrashed by Dominika Cibulkova.
She fell in the third and fourth rounds of the French Open and Wimbledon respectively, while at Flushing Meadows she fell victim to China’s Peng Shuai.
She did, however, avoid her first title-less season since 2010 by defeating Venus Williams to win in Montreal in August, while at Indian Wells four months earlier, she was defeated by Flavia Pennetta in the final.
And last but not least, Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki returns to the WTA Finals for the first time since 2011 after a huge career resurgence which followed her dramatic split from golfing boyfriend Rory McIlroy in May.
The Dane endured a poor first half of 2014, which included losing in the first round at the French Open. However, a small title in Istanbul, the previous home of the WTA Finals, laid the platform for a return to the world’s top 10.
Ranked 15th at the time, Wozniacki would then enjoy a modest US Open series campaign, reaching the quarter-finals and semi-finals at Montreal and Cincinnati, respectively, losing on both occasions to Serena Williams in three sets. Again, the American proved to be an impediment in her bid to win the US Open in September.
That’s the White Group. Now, an explanation of how the tournament works.
Rules
The eight players have been split into two groups as already mentioned: the Red and White groups. The tournament employs a round-robin format, where players within each group play each other once.
The top two players from each group at the end of six matches then progress to the semi-finals, with the winners of the Red and White groups playing the runners-up from the reverse groups, respectively.
If results go as expected, Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova could meet in the final.
Can the American make it a hat-trick at the final event of the season, or will someone else reign supreme? It’s set to be a thriller of a season finale, however it may unfold.
Whether it’s aces or races, try out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp for great odds and a great punting experience. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.